The economic crisis which Sri Lanka is facing has caused many to seek help from the State in the form of a social safety net. Sri Lanka moved to review its troubled ‘Samurdhi’ welfare scheme, and introduced a new safety net called ‘Aswesuma’, which following some initial criticism, seems to be fully operational now.  

Yesterday, State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe stated that approximately 7,000 individuals who were found to have received Aswesuma welfare benefits based on false information have been removed from the programme. The move comes following the Government evaluating applications which had drawn criticism and complaints. “We are actively gathering information about such individuals. It is imperative to note that upon identifying them, we are ready to pursue the recovery of funds and to initiate legal action against them in accordance with the law,” the state minister said, addressing the media. The fact that the review process worked and that 7000 of those who provided fake information to join the safety net, are now removed from the process, is commendable.

Abuse of State welfare programmes had been a long-standing problem in Sri Lanka, mainly due to the processes being politicised. The Samurdhi programme was plagued with thousands of beneficiaries, who were nowhere near the poverty line, leaching away from state funds, which should have been used to support more needy segments of the population. The inequality of distribution of Samurdhi funds and support, also created a deep distrust in the state welfare system, thereby promoting, vulnerable groups to view, political association as the only way to secure being part of the social safety net. While the Aswesuma programme has had allegations of having political biases, the Government seems to be practising more transparency with the new safety net, and has several built- in accountability criteria which is a departure from past practices. The tight fiscal controls and policy directives to streamline state expenditure due to the crisis likely has pushed the government and state officials to better scrutinise the entry applications of the new welfare programme. While Aswesuma still has many teething issues to iron out, it seems to be in practice, being implemented with better oversight, than earlier programmes. It is likely that the stringent International Monetary Fund (IMF) conditions which are part of the bailout process, has had a positive impact on the safety net’s rollout.  

The verification and certification process for applicants in the second phase of the Aswesuma programme has been finalised, the minister said. Adding that, all necessary arrangements have been made to extend benefits to 2.4 million family units starting from June 2024. The Government has also stressed that the closure of the second phase of applications, is slated to conclude on 15 March. Initially, 3.4 million family units were certified for the programme’s first phase. Out of this, 1.9 million families have been deemed eligible to receive benefits. Following the assessment of the appeals and objections received, the Welfare Benefit Board is prepared to commence payments to the selected beneficiaries from July, 2024. A total of 1,227,000 appeals and objections were registered, of which around 1,197,000 have been resolved.

Following extensive awareness efforts, approximately 200,000 to 250,000 applications from those who had failed to register for the Aswesuma programme in the initial stages, have been received thus far, Minister Semasinghe pointed out. The numbers indicate that a sizeable part of Sri Lanka’s population who were pushed to poverty in the last three years, now need a helping hand to get by. The Government has moved to earmark Rs. 205 billion allocation in anticipation of the new registrations for compensation payments in 2024. Given the state of the government revenue raising, which is yet to meet the ambitious targets sent, and the fact that despite some serious expenditure control measures, state expenditure has not reduced by the anticipate levels, the state welfare system, needs to be thoroughly vetted for giving to where it is absolutely necessary, and trimming the fat where needed. A well-coordinated, and distributed social safety net, will rebuild trust in state institutions, and lend a hand to the most vulnerable communities to get by during this rough patch. The State must ensure that Aswesuma is not tainted as Samurdhi was, and for that, politics, and favouritism must be done away with.